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Category Archives: Productivity

I’ve always liked the idea of being an early riser. It seems a lot of successful people start early, get a head start. But actually doing it… never really happened. Actually, that’s not totally true. There were times I managed to get up earlier but I always seemed to back slide. However, I’ve recently had […]

Goethe, the author The Sorrows of Young Werther, was once asked how he’d achieved so much. I don’t play chess, he replied. Chess was the TV of its day. Or maybe social media. Or sports. You get the idea. According to a report from Business Insider, the main difference between rich and poor really boils […]

Peter Drucker, author of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said: “There is nothing so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all.” On Tuesday, I overheard two people talking on the train. The first said, ‘You’re right. He’s always in early, and probably still there.’ He meant the office. It was 7.15 […]

If I could show you how one small tweak change improve your future earnings, health, and happiness, would you be interested? Who wouldn’t, right? It’s to do with active and passive surfing. The way you surf online affects your long-term objectives. For example, if I read one article from Harvard Business Review every day, and […]

Is one way of challenging others. It’s a slight twist on the carrot v stick approach. Instead of praising others, possibly when you know they could do better, it encourages the person to see if they can up their game. You begin to think, ‘Maybe he’s right. Is that the best I can do?’ The Scotland […]

I don’t know about you but I was always a bit scared of fasting. Somehow something might go wrong. So, it’s one of those things that, while it seems like a good idea, I leave to others. Until recently. For an annual checkup, I had to fast for 12 hours – yes, I know – […]

“I’d wish he’d get off that computer?” Ever heard yourself saying that? If you have Minecraft and kids, trust me, you are not alone. It makes sense, of course. Well, up to a point because kids see it very different, which is what we’ve coming on to. Once upon a time, we all (us parents […]

Which is better – one extra hour in the morning or one the evening? Staying up one hour late doesn’t mean you gain an extra hour’s productivity. In fact, you may be eating into tomorrow’s resources. Getting a good night’s sleep is critical to your performance, creativity, and ability to cope with tomorrow’s stress. Here’s […]

Performance reviews are a Catch 22 if you work for yourself. Who’s going to review your progress and tell you what you need to hear? Work for someone else? When’s the last time you got a performance review that really made a difference? If you don’t get peer or performance reviews at your company, here’s […]

I spend 10 hours a day writing documents, guides, reports and other goodies. One of the hazards of working these long hours is migraine, back pain and (literally) a pain in the neck. You can get away with this in your 20s, but as you get older you need to take greater care of your […]

As someone who runs their own company, lost time is lost money. And, it’s no different if you work for someone else. Lost time = lost money. Every minute counts. ‘Help me answer every email in the same biz day!’ I got this from a good friend a while back and this is what I wrote back to her. ‘I get approx 70 email a day. 120 is high. 50 low. I run 7 sites. Most of my customers are in the US but I have others in the UK, across Europe and in Australia. So, emails are always coming in. Here’s what I do:

Friday is my busiest day. Most folks power down and go into weekend mode. Not here! Ask yourself, ‘why do I go down a gear on Friday?’, ‘How does this benefit my career?’ Ok, let’s be honest. We do this because others do it. Right? This is a high-risk way to manage your career. You’re letting others determine how you behave. And it damages your career in many, many ways. Here’s an alternative approach.

How Would You Re-Define BMW’s Innovation Philosophy? How do you define innovation? Graham Horton has translated BMW’s definition of innovation for those who don’t speak German. I (used to) speak a little German and hope to get the original translation from Graham.

How much time do you spend writing every week? Remember, you have 37.5 hours (I know!) for technical writing every week, but how much is actually spent writing? When I say writing I actually mean developing content, so this includes illustrations, diagrams, publishing etc – whatever goes into the final deliverable.